William Charles Clifford Smith [also known as William Charles Clifford-Smith] was born in Bethnall Green, Middlesex [now London], England on 30 March 1855 and was articled to James Carrington Simpson (1828-1901), a civil engineer, in London from 1871 to 1876. He subsequently gained practical experience as an architect and engineer working at Hawks, Crawshay & Co.'s engineering shops, Gateshead; in office of J. F. Spencer; and with Maudslay, Sons & Field. He was employed as Technical Adviser to the Imperial Turkish Government and was engaged as chief designer of machinery in the Imperial Dockyard, Constantinople in 1885-86. In 1892, he was appointed engineer to the Asylums Committee of the London County Council, a position he held until his retirement in October, 1924.
Smith was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1910, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1920. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1920.
His address was given as 198 Romford Road, West Ham, Essex in 1881; Dudley Lodge, 4 Springfield Road, Wallington, Surrey in 1911 and 1931; London Asylums Committee, Offices: 6-Waterloo Place, London in 1912 and 1914; 40, Craven Street, Strand, London in 1923; and County Hall, Westminster Bridge, London in 1926. He died in Wallington, Surrey on 3 June 1931.
Manor Asylum, Epsom, Surrey; Epileptic Colony, Ewell; Villa section of Colney Hatch Asylum; Central Station for generating electric current, Horton; Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill; Eleventh London County Asylum, Horton Epsom; and many others. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1914]
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary. William Charles Clifford Smith’. Journal of Mental Science vol. 77, issue 318, July 1931 pp. 465 - 467